Gas, brake, honk. Just how bad is Toronto traffic ?

Plus, Ontario's $10-a-day child-care fumble, and Quebec's immigration-fuelled election [The Star] First Up [By Ashley Okwuosa] By Ashley Okwuosa Good morning. Here’s the latest on traffic in Toronto, Ontario’s $10-a-day child-care plan, and Quebec’s provincial election. DON’T MISS R.J. Johnston/The Star traffic jam [Toronto traffic is as bad as you think it is — and likely to get worse]( Torontonians are now spending almost as much time stuck in morning traffic as they were before the pandemic — even with fewer cars on the road. While traffic in the city is nearing pre-pandemic levels, with car volume at a selection of downtown intersections at 80 per cent of pre-COVID levels, just 29 per cent of downtown employees were back in the office as of September 1. [Here’s why traffic in Toronto is likely to get worse before it gets better and how one city council candidate proposes we fix it](. - What gives? One reason for the jam is construction, with the city’s director of traffic management saying Toronto is “the busiest city in North America” in terms of construction. Another reason is transit, or its lack of riders. TTC ridership is still just 65 to 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels during the week, while GO Transit is only seeing half the weekday riders it did before COVID. - Why it matters: More than an inconvenience, traffic is a money waster. The GTA loses about $6 billion each year in productivity lost to traffic — a number that’s expected to climb to $15 billion in the next decade as the city grows, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade. - Bad news for: Us and the environment. The transportation sector is the second-largest source of Toronto’s greenhouse gas emissions, representing 36 per cent of the city’s total emissions in 2019, with most coming from personal vehicles.  Toronto Star Photo Illustration star investigation [How Ontario gave in to pressure from for-profit child care operators, sparking a political standoff with Ottawa]( Months after signing a $10.2 billion child care deal with Ottawa, Ontario “cried uncle,” bowing to pressure from a group of for-profit daycares and making changes to the federally-funded  program. A Star investigation found the for-profit daycare owners hired a public relations firm, launched a website and encouraged parents to inundate Education Minister Stephen Lecce and other politicians with emails to bring the province to the table. Now that the changes have been made, experts say that the province has only emboldened for-profit daycares and compromised the ambitious program. [Here’s everything you need to know about Ontario’s changes to its rollout of $10-a-day child care](. - Why it matters: Among other changes, the province dropped a list of “ineligible expenditures,” which would have prevented operators from using public money to finance their mortgages or pay executive bonuses. - Context: For-profit daycares make up 30 per cent of Ontario’s licensed spaces for children under six years old. They accounted for 28 per cent of all child-care spaces in Canada in 2019, including before-and-after school care. - Word from Queen’s Park: In written statements, Lecce’s office defended Ontario’s rollout of the program and said the province continues to meet “all obligations” under the deal. Canadian Press/Ryan Remiorz quebec votes [How did Quebec’s election turn into a fight about immigration?]( Quebec residents head to the polls today to have their say on a campaign that has turned into a confusing song and dance about immigration. After condemning his immigration minister for anti-immigrant comments, Premier François Legault went on to say that if his party is re-elected, it would put in place tougher French-language requirements for immigrants and ensure that more newcomers settle in outlying regions of the province. Those comments have angered critics who say immigration has been a benefit to the province. [Here’s an inside look at how Quebec’s election turned into an immigration slugfest](. - By the numbers: Legault’s tone seems to be at odds with his policies. The number of permits issued for temporary foreign workers has more than doubled from 13,030 in 2017 — the year before Legault’s party came to power — to 30,340 in 2021. - Now what? Experts say Legault is [benefiting from a strong reserve of “sympathy and goodwill”]( cultivated from his management of the pandemic. His Coalition Avenir Québec is expected to win about 99 of the National Assembly’s 125 seats, with just 39 per cent of the votes. WHAT ELSE New immigrants to Canada are building bridges with Indigenous Peoples. [Here’s why that matters](. An education workers’ union will [announce today whether its members support a strike]( amid talks with the province. A justice rally condemning attacks on Afghanistan’s Hazara community [brought 400 people to downtown Toronto Sunday](. Afghan women’s rights activist Farzana Adell Ghadiys is fleeing the Taliban. [Why did Canada just reject her visa application? ]( [Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is stepping down]( before the United Conservative Party picks a new leader Thursday. Alberta announces it will [commit $20.8 million over the next four years to fight human trafficking](. The rising cost of goods and ongoing supply chain issues could [haunt the first major post-COVID Halloween](. A stampede at a soccer match in Indonesia on Saturday killed 125 people. [Here’s what happened](. The Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform is [challenging sections of the law that criminalize advertising sexual services](. Rising rent and food costs are [pushing international students to a breaking point](. POV Shawn Micallef/Star Photo Illustration [Why has this public park in Toronto been fenced off from the public for over two years?]( CLOSE-UP Gerald Herbert/AP Photo FLORIDA: People stand on the destroyed bridge to Pine Island as they view the damage in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian on Matlacha island. Days after Hurricane Ian, [fewer than 620,000 Florida homes and businesses were still without electricity early Monday](. Thank you for reading. You can reach me and the First Up team at [firstup@thestar.ca](mailto:firstup@thestar.ca?source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=emailutm_email=6C53B63A8E3FAD70AD4EF13004527437&utm_campaign=frst_147768). Manuela will see you back here tomorrow. 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